Posts Tagged ‘bmw m performance’

BMW is pumping things up for 2017, offering a pair of new and more powerful TwinPower Turbo engines for the 2-Series coupe and convertible lines.

The old M235i model will be replaced for the coming model-year by the 2017 BMW M240i, the new 3.0-liter six-cylinder package churning out 335 horsepower, a 15 hp increase over its predecessor. That puts it within striking distance of the top-line BMW M2. The other option for 2017 is the new 2.0-liter BMW 230i, which will be making 248 hp.

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BMW claims that both of the new engine packages develop smoother and more instantaneous power than classic turbo options, eliminating the classic turbo lag at low RPMs. The 240i, for example, hits peak torque of 369 pound-feet at just 1,520 revs.

Expect an M version of the new BMW Gran Coupe, the maker's U.S. CEO tells TheDetroitBureau.com.

Even as it gets set to launch sales of its new M6 model, BMW is looking at ways to further expand its high-performance brand-within-a-brand, a senior executive told TheDetroitBureau.com.

Once limited to a handful of limited-production offerings, BMW now offers M versions of more than half of its line-up – with several key omissions, including the flagship 7-Series, but that may soon change, noted Ludwig Willisch, CEO of the maker’s North American sales subsidiary.

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Willisch said he also expects the maker to eventually make extensive use of strong and lightweight carbon fiber, perhaps even in such models as BMW’s best-seller, the 3-Series.

The German executive was in Santa Barbara for the first U.S. media drive of BMW’s new M6 and Gran Coupe models. The latter is a 4-door version of the maker’s classic coupe, the 6-Series – and intended to go up against the likes of the Audi A7 and Mercedes-Benz CLS.

There was a time when BMW’s vaunted M products were in short supply, European performance fans sometimes having to wait a year or more for one of the exclusive models as they came and went from production.

Not anymore. While individual products might have brief gaps between model changeovers the overall M line-up is growing fast – even faster if you include the new M Performance line-up, such as the maker’s new M550d triple-turbo diesel-powered rocket ship that is on display at the Geneva Motor Show.

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The formal introduction of that brand-within-a-brand was one of several big announcements at Geneva’s PALExpo Convention Center this week, but the big news was clearly the unveiling of the next-generation BMW M6.

Based on the 6-Series Cabriolet that came to market early last year, and the Coupe that followed soon after, it is the most-powerful two-door BMW has ever offered, with its twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8 making 560 horsepower – a full 20 hp more than the same engine currently churns out under the hood of the BMW M5.

BMW will add a production of the M135i Concept to its new M Performance brand.

We’re starting to wonder what’s going to be left to see when we get to the Geneva Motor Show next month. Between inadvertent leaks – see our coverage of the Volvo V40 and Audi A3 yesterday – and advanced releases it seems like a sizable share of the 50-some previews will already be old news.

That included a whole host of BMW products that the maker offered up in advance earlier this month. But now, it seems, it almost forgot to clue us in on one final Geneva show car: the BMW M135i Concept.

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The designation might seem odd. You might recall that with the 2011 BMW 1-Series pocket rocket the maker chose to call it the 1M, so as not to sully the legend of its original M1 supercar. Well, the Geneva concept is very definitely not a change of heart. The longer M135i designation reveals it is a prototype for the new mid-range BMW M Performance brand-within-a-brand.

BMW apparently thinks there is more room for a few angels to dance on the head of its pin. The maker will reveal an all-new product range during the upcoming Geneva Motor Show that it says will land somewhere between its mainstream line-up and its vaunted M series.

The new line-up, to be called BMW M Performance Automobiles, promise to deliver similar levels of performance to such current offerings as the M5, while appealing to those who don’t want to sacrifice “the familiar comfort and practicality” of a BMW 535i.

“We are targeting our efforts at customers looking for more emotionality and more performance, but who don’t want to forgo the everyday usability of their cars,” said Friedrich Nitschke, President of BMW M GmbH.

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While specific details will be held back for the March introduction, the executive hints that there could be additional product lines specifically created for the M Performance brand. It will also rely on a mix of gasoline and diesel powertrains, with BMW’s xDrive all-wheel-drive system expected to “play a significant role.”

The role model for the new sub-brand is the 1980 M535i, which featured plenty of power but a more every day driving experience than the hard-charging M cars BMW produces today.

The new line should hit market sometime later this year.

It’s just the latest step the maker has announced in its effort to fill seemingly every possible inch of white space in the luxury segment. BMW’s new “i” line of battery vehicles debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show, last September. The maker also pushed into compact performance, last year, with the debut of the 1M. As TheDetroitBureau.com has reported, a diesel-powered M model, tentatively dubbed the BMW 550dXM, for diesel, all-wheel-drive, is also in development.

The automaker last year, meanwhile, captured the top spot in the U.S. luxury sales wars, nudging past long-time leader Lexus and narrowly topping German rival Mercedes-Benz. To help maintain that momentum, BMW announced last week plans to further expand its assembly line in Spartanburg, South Carolina, which is expected to thus become the second-largest BMW plant in the world.